The Great Leap ForwardThe beginnings of industrialization in China

What is the G.L.F.?

The Great Leap Forward was a plan established in 1958 that pushed the Chinese people to increase output

Output is the amount of something produced by a person, machine, or industry.

Goals of G.L.F.

Increase steel production

Increase agricultural yields

Make China self-sufficient (able to support themselves)

Make China as productive as Western nations

Workforce

The Great Leap Forward mobilized the population

Everyone was expected to play a role and work to support China

“Every mouth has two hands attached”

Slogans were used to motivate the workforce

Great Leap Forward

If successful, the plan would have allowed China to assert themselves as a major world power.

Goal 1: Steel production

Steel is an alloy made mostly of Iron (Fe) and up to 2% Carbon (C)

It is a very valuable commodity (a product that can be bought and sold)

Steel in the G.l.f.

Mao wanted to increase steel production

Set up backyard furnaces to make steel

This process results in low quality steel

Steel in the G.l.f.

To make useable steel, it must be made in a mill

People began melting down possessions (pots) in order to meet quotas.

Environmental concerns

Goal 2: Agriculture

Rural people were expected to produce food to sustain the populace AND create a surplus that could be sold as an export.

The money would help fuel further progress.

Agriculture plan

The government collectivized agricultural land

Instead of having a number of different people making agricultural decisions with many pieces of land, you had one central force making decisions regarding all land use

Is that good or bad?

Agricultural plan

Mao demanded high yields and encouraged practices that are very harmful to the soil and are not sustainable

Close planting

Clearing of land

No crop rotation

No fallow time

Changing Goals

Those in power continually increased demand.

Workers ended up with less to survive on.

Changing goals

“Frequent changes in the timetable were symptomatic of the Great Leap, which, in retrospect, was fantasy incarnate. Even more exaggerated targets were subsequently presented, and then frequently revised upward, for steel, grain, cotton and other products. Any semblance of serious planning was abandoned”

Four Pests campaign

Eliminate the following pests:

Flies

Mosquitos

Rats

Sparrows

Sparrow Campaign

Part of the Great Leap Forward was eradicating sparrows that threatened grain crops

Sparrow Campaign

“It was fun to “Wipe Out the Four Pests”. The whole school went to kill sparrows. We made ladders to knock down their nests, and beat gongs in the evenings, when they were coming home to roost. It was many years before we knew that sparrows were good birds. At the time, we only knew they ate grain.”

The result...

With no predator left to hunt them, locust populations grew and were a much more devastating force against crops

Climate

At the start of the Great Leap Forward, weather conditions were optimal, making the campaign seem successful

Droughts the following year launched the country into a famine

Great Leap Famine

China experienced widespread famine

Famine resulted in a reported 15 million excess deaths, though some argue it was MUCH higher

Great Leap forward

The G.L.F. was the beginning of industrialization in China.

Now, China has many factories across the landscape producing goods for China and the world

Increased consumption and technology have resulted in massive environmental impact

Air pollutionHow have humans contributed to air pollution in china?

Air Pollution

Auto and factory emissions increase as China becomes more productive and pursues a first world lifestyle.

water pollutionAlong the yellow river

Water concerns

Large demand for fresh water places strain on underground aquifers.

Food production runoff (as well as industrial and city waste run off) contaminates water sources and can lead to algal blooms.

Soil ErosionLoess Plateau

Soil Concerns

Agricultural practices have led to increased erosion and depletion of soil quality.

Increased demand for food places strain on agricultural land.

deforestation

Desertification

desertificationGrazing on China’s degraded grasslands

Habitat Destruction

Deforestation, degradation of grasslands and wetlands

Human alteration of the landscape has resulted in habitat destruction that contributes to a number of natural disasters.

Biodiversity Losses

How do human actios contribute to biodiversity losses?

Biodiversity losses

Human consumption of fish now threatens many native fish species

As production and trade increase, China’s exposure to invasive species also increases

Megaprojects

How are megaprojects like the Three Gorges Dam and the South-to-North Water Diversion Project a result of humans?

Megaprojects

The large population requires more power and water.

In response these projects are designed to provide for the people

Community Action

Group action is a double-edged sword

Huge changes can be made in short time

For better or worse

Community Action

Many people can have a negative environmental impact:

Mass movements during the Great Leap Forward initiate environmental destruction.

Community Action

However, unity and support of positive environmental policy is the key to its restoration/preservation

Ex. The support of the one-child policy on a large scale allowed China to significantly decrease the population growth rate.